He thought she would always be there, but, fate decided to play with his heart and their destiny. Now, he could only accept it or watch her walk away from him for good. After all denial is something that can be cured with the right prescription. Soujirou/Yuki.

I've been dancing the idea for the last twelve hours. It's driving me crazy and I don't even know why, but, I am tempted to write a respond to the challenge posted. Apparently, I'm going crazy at the moment. I can't even get the characters out of my head when I really want to. Still, I guess this is better than writing a fanfic about Shin Young & Min Jae seeing that Kev had said that he would hang himself if I do. Wouldn't want to kill a fellow LUers now, right? Alright, this is a one-shot!

"Yuki?" A familiar female voice entered Yuki's wake as her eyes fluttered open. Soon, her line of vision was graced by the worried look of none other than her best friend; Makino, no Domyouji Tsukushi. She watched as her friend sighed in relief. "Thank heavens, you had me worried there," Tsukushi stated, clearly pleased to see her. Wait. Yuki wrecked her brain as she tried to blink away the sleepiness that was in her system. Her eyes wandered to find the white walls and the not so very standard hospital decoration. "Where?" She tried to speak but her voice came out hoarse. She could feel the prickling sensation that was scratching her throat. Tsukushi's expression softened as she rested her palm on top of Yuki's head. She was definitely relieved to see Yuki opening her eyes and speaking again. Her heart had almost stopped when she first heard the news about her accident. Luckily, Tsubaki, her sister-in-law was back in town and had her informed even when Tsukasa had basically ordered all of their staffs to not to disturb them when they were on the island.

"You're in the hospital," Tsukushi explained, watching Yuki tried to rationalized and perhaps make sense of the whole situation. "You had an accident," She added softly, finding a confused twinkle in Yuki's eyes. She had to practically insisted to be at the hospital when she arrived, allowing Yuki's parents to at least go home and have a fresh change of clothes. Needless to say, Tsukasa was not happy; he had practically put the hospital on high alert, worried that something bad could happen to Tsukushi. After all, the first trimester – as he had learned from reading (which surprised Tsukushi, Tsukasa actually read) can be quite difficult. Tsukushi had to smack Tsukasa's head reminding him that the child have half of her gene and would probably be just as resilient and to give her at least some credit. It was a great laugh for his friends that were there, well, at least they were amused.

"Good, you're awake," Tsukasa's voice boomed through the room causing Tsukushi to turn around almost immediately. Yuki on the other hand blinked in surprise to see Tsukasa standing by the entrance and started to walk into the room. Soon, he was graced with another backhand slapped by Tsukushi. "Idiot!" Tsukushi screamed; matching Tsukasa's tone, there was no doubt in the world that the two of them could very well wake up an entire continent. "This is a hospital, you're not supposed to be shouting around," Tsukushi added, her voice was still high. "Who are you calling an idiot?" Tsukasa fired back, still screaming. Yuki couldn't help but blink, watching the couple before her started to bicker. Any sleepiness that was in her system was long gone; she was wide awake just watching the two fought. It still amazed her how the two could stick together with the amount of fights they had over the years. Still, she guessed that when it was meant to be, it will be.

Yuki's eyes traveled back to the door just in time to catch Akira walking in, followed by Rui who was holding a bouquet of lilies in his hand. "I think you just woke the entire hospital up Tsukasa," Rui stated absentmindedly as he walked towards Yuki's bed, placing the flowers on top of the side cabinet. Yuki managed a nod when Rui offered her a kind smile. Her eyes traveled back to Tsukasa when she heard him snicker. "Well, they ought to know that the –" Tsukasa began but he didn't get to finish what it was that he was going to say when Tsukushi slapped the back of his head – hard. "Idiot!" He yelled causing Rui to chuckle and shook his head. Tsukushi opened her mouth to respond but Akira beat her to the punch. "There, there, I think Yuki needs to rest, we being here would just keep her awake and not help with her recovery," He stated. As always, Akira was still the voice of reason that Yuki had remembered. There was always the irony in that.

Akira's statement was definitely enough to shut his friends. Tsukushi bit down her tongue, clearly her respect towards Akira kept her cautious with her words. Tsukasa managed to a grunt and rolled his eyes. "How are you feeling, Yuki-san?" Rui asked suddenly, prompting Yuki to turn her gaze back to the handsome blond that was standing lazily beside her bedside. It was still unnerving to have the F4 members around her. "Fine, I guess," She replied, her voice was still hoarse, causing Rui to smile and turn to pour her a cup of water. "Here," He added, handing the cup at Yuki who took it carefully. Four pair of eyes was on her as she took a sip slowly. After what it felt like an eternity mixed with that extremely uncomfortable feeling like she was an animal in a zoo cage being stared at by visitors, Yuki handed the emptied cup back to Rui who took it gladly, placing it back by the side table.

"Felt like I've slept for a hundred years," Yuki stated, trying to lighten up the mood that appear to have tensed within seconds. She noticed that a member of the F4 was missing, not that she had expected him to be there either. He was always running from her and expecting him to show up would be like expecting the sun to rise from the west, not going to happen. She watched as Tsukushi, Tsukasa and Akira exchanged a quick look while Rui remained completely passive. "Well... Umm..." Tsukushi mumbled, trying to find the right words to phrase. "You've been in a coma for over three months, Yuki-san," Rui stated, coming to the rescue. Yuki's eyes widened in surprised as she tried to process the information. There was a somber look on everyone's face that confirmed what Rui had just told her. Three months, she had lost three months of her life.

Uncomfortable silence filled the room as everyone waited for Yuki to respond. "Oh," She said finally. Trying to remain calm and not scream in panic. The last thing she wanted to do was panic and slowly she realized how numb her whole body was. That would explained why Rui was extremely careful when he had handed her the cup for a drink, he wasn't just being his polite self. "Well, I guess I missed that movie I wanted to see, they've probably stopped showing it by now," She added, trying to sound cheerful and not worry her friends. Yuki watched as Tsukushi exhaled deeply, but her eyes told a different story, Tsukushi was still worried. "That's fine; we can always rent a private theater for you. Yuki-chan," Akira offered kindly, it would be like nothing for either of them to pull it off. It wasn't like Yuki was asking for a continent.

Yuki couldn't help but blushed, taken aback by the offer. It was no secret that Akira was always the kindest one. "No, no, that's alright Mimasaka-san," She declined quickly. "I can always buy the DVD later," She added enthusiastically. Akira managed a small smile and nodded. Noting to rent a theater after all, it would be a treat for Yuki once she got out of the hospital. Right now, he figured it would be best not to argue with her. "Well, we ought to let you rest," He said finally, gesturing to his friend that it was time to leave Yuki alone. "We'll come back for a visit tomorrow," Rui stated with a small smile dangling on his lips. Once again, Yuki was reminded as to why it was easy to like Rui and why Tsukushi once had a crush on the guy. He was genuinely kind and selfless.

"No, its fine, I'm sure –" Yuki tried to save them the trouble but Akira beat her to the punch, his timing was always perfect. "We'll see you tomorrow, Yuki-chan," He stated, not giving room for Yuki to argue at all and started to turn away, followed by Rui. "Yuki, I've brought some books and an MP3 for you, call me if you need anything, alright?" Tsukushi stated kindly, fidgeting a little, as if she didn't want to leave Yuki's side if she was given the choice. "Alright, don't worry about me," Yuki stated quickly, trying not to look at Tsukasa, he could still intimidate her. "Your cellphone is in the drawer, I've charged –" Tsukushi mumbled but Yuki waved her hair to stop her from talking. "Just go," She stated quickly glancing at Tsukasa. Luckily for her, Tsukasa was quick to get the message and started to pull Tsukushi out of the room. "I'll come back tomorrow," Tsukushi called as she struggled to follow Tsukasa. His grip on her was tight but careful at the same time.

Finally allowed to be left alone, Yuki found herself sighing. Her eyes traveled to look at the room again. It was definitely not a standard hospital room. There was no way her parents, oh right; it had to be the F4. She groaned inwardly, the last thing she wanted was to owe more favours from the guys. She wasn't anyone to them; she was just a friend of a friend. Well, a friend of the woman who was married to their leader. "Miss Matsuoka?" A small female voice disturbed Yuki's peace; she turned her head sharply to find a young nurse staring at her with a kind smile, beside her stood an equally young doctor. "How are you feeling?" The young doctor asked kindly. Yuki could only watch in awe to see how the staffs were treating her like precious gold. She could scoff. It was definitely the F4 influence.

Still, she pulled the biggest smile she could afford. "Fine, I guess," She stated. There was no need for her to resent them; it wasn't their fault if the F4 intimidate them in anyway, they could really be unnerving. "Good to hear," The young doctor replied cheerfully. Now, Yuki was not a sarcastic person, but she couldn't help but wanted to roll her eyes, it was strange to see someone that happy to see a patient. "I'm Hiroshi Jin; I'm the physician in-charge of your case," The young doctor introduced himself. "This is Nurse Hirata Myu, just call her if you need anything," He added, pointing at the nurse who nodded happily. Yuki bowed her head slowly, acknowledging their introduction. Trying not to think of how much it cost for someone to act so politely around her. She could understand nice, but that was definitely beyond niceness that it creep her out.

"So, I've schedule—" The young doctor, Hiroshi Jin went to explain the course of her physiotherapy to Yuki, apparently she would need to learn to walk again. She nodded on queue as the explanation went on; no serious damage, your backbone seemed fine and so on. There was a schedule CAT scan and this and that test along with it. Finally, the doctor clapped his hand cheerfully. "If everything goes well, we'll have you out of here in no time at all," He stated, still in that same happy tone. Yuki could only nod once again. Of course, the duo did not leave her be immediately, it was only after taking her blood sample that they disappeared, closing the door behind them. Relieved that she was finally alone, Yuki's eyes darted towards the stack of books Tsukushi had carefully laid out for her. A smile formed on her face as she reached for one.

The silence of which that filled the room was welcoming as Yuki turned one page after another. Her eyes trained on the letters, following the story and the adventure painted for it. It wasn't until the sun had dropped and the sky darkened that the door to her room was opened once again. She turned her head sharply, expecting to see either one of her parents to be there but... "Ni –" She began and stopped, surprised to see the figure of a man leaning lazily on the door frame. She swallowed hard, swallowing what was left of her non-existent pride. She had not hoped to see him but to see him there still caused her heart to misbehave. Why is he here? Yuki's mind screamed in protest. Why? To tease her since he could run away and she wouldn't be able to run after him? Yuki's eyes narrowed.

Anger was building up, seeing him, she was angry. It was him; he was the reason why she was in there. She was running after him, it was the last thing she could remember before waking up on a hospital bed. It was the book signing, it had been a while since she last saw him and she had been ecstatic at the prospect of seeing him again, she had missed him more than she would like to admit. That – that smirks that was dangling on his lips, Yuki's cheek's reddened in annoyance. How dare he? Yuki's mind started to race a million mile per minute. "You look well," Soujirou stated as he walked into the room, stopping when he was only a few steps away from her. Yuki could feel her breath hitch, no, she can't. She had to learn to forget Nishikado Soujirou.

"Why are you here?" Yuki asked acidly, trying her hardest to appear indifferent and not to start fiddling with the book that was in her hand. Soujirou's eyes widened in surprise but he did not falter. His smile broadened. "To see you, of course," He stated in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was a known knowledge with the 'duh' factor attached to it. Yuki rolled her eyes boringly. "Right," She scoffed in annoyance. "You can leave now, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," She added, brushing off the sudden appearance of Soujirou, acting as if he being there did not cause her heart to race, turning her gaze away from him so that he wouldn't see the expression change. Still, she was angry with him, three months was a long time to miss out your life and he was the reason why she was missing everything. She didn't even want to think of plenty of other things.

Yuki turned sharply back at Soujirou when she heard a small laugh. Her eyes narrowed even further. "Why are you really here Nishikado-san?" She fired, that was it, and she just had it. Wasting her time for him, chasing after him, she had just about enough. "I don't need you here, you don't have to show up and pretend like you care," She added furiously, her arms flailing around. Soujirou's face turned a little as he watched Yuki loosing her temper, it was the first time he had ever seen her truly angry. She was always the kind and sweet Yuki. "Yuki-chan," He began trying to calm her down, but calling her name seemed to be like adding fuel to the fire that was already burning brightly.

"You know what, I've had it," She barked. Soujirou flinched slightly in his skin, surprised. "One minute you're running away from me and the next you're here, make up your mind, it's either you're avoiding me or not," She added, her voice was high, as anger flushed through her. Her face was red, but for the first time it was not because of embarrassment. She was truly loosing her patience with Soujirou. "Yuki-chan," Soujirou called again, but Yuki wasn't listening to him, not anymore. "I'm tired of this; I can't go around living expecting you to turn and look at me at least once, I'm too tired to keep running after you," Yuki went on, trying her hardest not to let her voice falter. She had to say goodbye, Soujirou didn't give a damn about her. Those who did had showed up earlier and they were truly her friends.

"Yuki-chan..." Soujirou called out Yuki's name again, sounding almost pleading. "I don't have anything to offer you," She spat back; her hands were balled into a couple of fist. "You can't be—" Soujirou's voice was weak, but Yuki tried to ignore the tone of his voice. No, she wasn't going to give him that chance to change her mind. "Get out," She stated softly, biting her bottom lip as she looked away from him again. Hearing his footsteps, Yuki turned to catch Soujirou walking away, a soft sigh betrayed her, but she quickly pulled the book that was in her hand close, opening its pages again, trying to read the words but nothing made sense, not a thing.

She had expected him to be gone, but the sound of a soft click startled her, followed by the sound of expensive fabric hitting the ground. She looked up and sighed, finding Soujirou still fully cloth, but his blazer was removed. "I'm not one of your girls, I'd appreciate it if you'd please put your clothes back on," She said dryly, turning away again. What happen next was nothing short of a surprise. Yuki caught a set of hurried footsteps and felt Soujirou's hand forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. One, two. Yuki barely caught on when she felt his lips crashed onto hers, testy at first, expecting her to push him away. But, that was just the thing; Yuki could feel all he conviction fleeting away the moment Soujirou's lips were on hers.

She was kissing him back and that was the only permission Soujirou needed as he deepened the kiss. Time and space was no longer relevant, he didn't want to think about anything. It was only after he felt his lung were screaming for air that Soujirou pulled away, reluctantly and rest his forehead on Yuki who looked at him questioningly. "You scare me, I thought I lost you," He began, still breathing heavily. His palm slowly caressed the softness of Yuki's cheek while her hands were holding onto his wrists as if she was holding on for her dear life. "Wh-what?" Yuki stammered, trying to understand what Soujirou was trying to tell her. She was scaring him? He was scared of loosing her?

"I didn't know what to do, they say you might not wake up, I was scared, I was –" Soujirou went on, rambling as he tried to catch his breath, but he didn't get around finishing what he was trying to say. It was becoming some sort of a theme. "Wh-why?" Yuki asked carefully, still stammering. Her heart that was just starting to calm down from the earth moving kiss was starting to double its speed again. Alright, triple its speed. Soujirou went quiet as he stared into Yuki's eyes; he allowed a moment to past before he spoke again. "I love you, okay?" He blurted, Yuki's eyes widened in surprise, unsure of how to react to the confession that came out of Soujirou's mouth.

"I love you," Soujirou repeated when Yuki remained stiff. He was pouring his heart out and Yuki was too startled to respond. "A-are you sure?" Yuki stated finally causing Soujirou to laugh heartily. Slowly, he sat at the edge of Yuki's bed before gathering her into his arms. "I think I've loved you for a while, it just took me to almost lose you to realize it," He confessed, causing Yuki to blush. "So, all I have to do was get into an accident and then tell you to get out from my life?" Yuki asked carefully, titling her head slightly so that she was face to face with Soujirou. A soft chuckle betrayed Soujirou's cool composure as he tightened his grip around Yuki. "I guess so," He replied jokingly, glad that Yuki was still in his life.

"Hmm... I should have thought of that sooner," Yuki stated and Soujirou couldn't help but laugh again, admiring the fact how Yuki could put it so bluntly, still, he was glad that he still stood a chance with her and because of everything he was finally brave enough to admit his own feelings. "Does this mean you'd stop running away from me?" Yuki asked again, another question that invited a mischievous smirk on Soujirou's face. "I make no promises," He replied teasingly causing Yuki's eyes to widen in surprise and slapped his forearm hard. "Yah!" Yuki shouted in protest but Soujirou could only laugh and pull Yuki into another kiss. I make no promises; I love the sight of you running after me.

Originally published on "Lovers Unparalleled" 29th August 2011

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.